At Allevi, our goal is to build tools that will allow scientists to explore questions in 3D culture. Yet, while this approach brings us closer to achieving the physiological microenvironments that cells experience, it makes it more difficult for us to observe what cells are doing deeper within these 3D constructs.

Molly Boutin, a graduate student at Brown University, may have come up with a possible solution to this dilemma. Using a clearing agent, ClearT2, which can reduce the scattering of light coming from fluorescent cells within the tissue. By doing so, fluorescent cells were visualized while maintaining the size of the tissue construct.

While this technique was used for scaffold-free tissues, it could be adapted to 3D bioprinting by using scaffolding that can be tuned to degrade over time and in response to certain non-toxic treatments as well as by proteases produced by the encapsulated cells as they deposit their own extracellular matrix.

This field is gaining more and more momentum everyday and we’re so excited to be at the front of this wave!

We’re #bioprinting with the #Allevi1 today in our lab. We’re using the #autocalibration feature to quickly switch between syringe tips, printing into #wellplates for #highthroughput, using the cooling feature to work with #collagen, AND we’re controlling it all remotely using the Allevi software to reduce the risk of contamination.
All this powerful tech in such a small footprint means we have space to spare under our hood! We design our #bioprinters around your workflow because we know how precious space and time are when it comes to the lab. What will you build?
#bigimpact #smallfootprint #bioprint #buildwithlife #mindfuldesign #customerfeedback #biotech #pharma #tissueengineering

Okay okay not the heart you were imagining today but we wanted to take a moment to tell you about how cool heart tissue is!
Heart tissue is composed of two main cell types- cardiomyocytes (CMCs) and cardiac fibroblasts (CFBs). CMCs are the contracting cells which allow the heart to pump. Each CMC needs to contract in sync with its neighboring cells to efficiently pump blood from the heart to the rest of your body. CFBs give support to the muscle tissue but are unable to provide forceful contractions. They hold the CMCs in place so they can do their job. Don’t discount CFBs though- they play a crucial role in responding to injury by creating collagen to repair broken tissue.
Our newest addition to the #AlleviAuthor club is a team of researchers out of @gwuniversity that is #3D #bioprinting heart tissue!! Read more at the Allevi blog and Happy Valentine’s day!

We are so honored to be selected by FierceMedTech as one of their #Fierce15 MedTech Companies of 2018! What really makes Allevi #fierce is our amazing #community of users who are using their Allevi #bioprinters to make tangible impacts on patients’ lives. #buildwithlife #healwithlife Thank you, FierceMedTech!!
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#medtech #biotech #bioprint #3d #bioprinter #futureofmedicine